I got one of those calls yesterday that nobody wants to get – a friend had died.

 

Reid Hanley wasn’t just my friend, he was a friend to about a gazillion people and a friend to golf.  A versatile long time sports and golf writer for the Chicago Tribune, he retired a couple of years ago.  (Tribune obituary). Reid was not only passionate about the game, he was quite the stick himself, sporting a single-digit handicap.

 

How unfair that Reid, a non-smoker, was taken by lung cancer.

 

I got to know Reid from the tournament circuit.  He’d show up at the odd major, or any tournament anywhere near Chicago.  Reid wasn’t assigned to cover the Masters, but every year he and a Chicago pal would come down for a couple of days to attend the annual awards banquet for the Golf Writers Association of America and hang around Augusta National for a couple of days.  During those trips, he’d dive on a couch in the house I shared with three other writers for the week.

 

I don’t think I ever saw Reid frown.  He was one of those guys who was always smiling when he walked into a room.  By the time he left, everybody else was smiling, too.

 

Reid Hanley will be missed.

I am delighted to report that we are adding a terrific new feature and invaluable resource to MyPhillyGolf – The Bausch Collection.

 

That’s the name I half-jokingly suggested for what is a remarkable collection of photo galleries of golf courses in the region.   Haven’t played a course but want to get a sense of what it looks like?  Check out The Bausch Collection.

 

The first few galleries have already been uploaded to MyPhillyGolf.  To see them, on the home page, go to the upper right-hand corner of the menu bar and click on the drop-down under "Photos."

 

Toward the bottom, you’ll see the list of courses – private and public -- whose galleries are already in place: Aronimink GC, Bella Vista GC, Blue Bell CC, Broad Run GC, Cobbs Creek GC, Inniscrone GC, Island Green GC and The ACE Club.

 

Then click on the galleries themselves, and each individual photo for an expanded version.

 

What you see is only the beginning.  In the coming weeks, we will add photo galleries for another 50-60 courses in the region.   To my knowledge, it will be the most comprehensive assemblage of Philadelphia-area course photos anywhere.

 

The Bausch Collection is named for Joe Bausch, a Villanova chemistry professor with a passion for golf course architecture.  As he plays courses, Joe snaps photos along the way, from every conceivable angle.  From the quality of the images, I assumed Joe was working with some sophisticated single lens reflex camera with a top-dollar lens.  Not so.  He get these results with a small, high-end point-and-shoot camera.

 

MyPhillyGolf came by the photos because I happened to be playing a recent round of golf with Joe at the GC at Glen Mills (gallery coming soon) when he mentioned that the growing collection of galleries was beginning to tax the limits of his 10-year-old Mac and wondered if we’d like to host them.

 

I had to think about it for a full half-second before I said, "You bet we would."

 

The Bausch Collection has been a work in progress for quite some time, as Joe points and shoots his way through the regional golf landscape.  If you know of a course that deserves to join the collection, let me know and I will suggest it to Joe.

 

In the meantime, keep an eye out as we add more and more course galleries -- and tell all your golf friends about The Bausch Collection.

There was a time not too many years ago when new golf courses were sprouting up all over the region, public and private.

 

I can recall writing round-up stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the half-dozen or so courses that would be in various stages of planning, construction or their first year of operation.

 

How many courses have opened in 2010?  One.

 

That course is Applecross CC in Downingtown, sister course to Talamore CC in Ambler, which the owners, the Talamore Group, are promoting as a 2-for-1 membership.

 

"If there is a better deal in town, I’d like to know what it is," said Jon Hazelwood, general manager of both clubs.

 

Given the laws of supply and demand, Applecross, which opened July 1, could be it the last new course in the area for a while.

 

Hazelwood goes even further, bluntly predicting, "Applecross will probably be the last new golf course built in the state of Pennsylvania.  There is no reason for there to be another one, unless the game of golf grows."

 

Good point.  Rather than grand openings, the talk in most grill rooms these days are rumors about what courses and clubs are barely hanging on or facing mergers or outright closure.

 

Why, then, did the Talamore Group, open Applecross?

 

Because he thought he could make a go of it even in the down golf economy.

 

"The courses complement one another – the courses and the distance between them," said Hazelwood.  "Applecross was a great product to add to the products we already had. But to think it’s not going to be a grind is very naive."

 

In 2005, when Applecross CC was first envisioned as the centerpiece of an upscale residential development by the Pulte Group, the Talamore Group wanted to develop the country club component.   It lost out to ClubCorp, at the time a big privately-held Dallas-based club management company.  In 2006, ClubCorp sold off everything except the Pinehurst Resort to private-held equity firm, KSL Capital Parnters. 

 

"Well, apparently Applecross wasn’t a good fit for KSL," said Hazelwood.  In 2009, the Talamore Group was back in the picture.

 

Any regrets, considering the downturn?

 

"No," said Hazelwood.  "Once we got involved, it was full steam ahead.  If you’re not going to go full steam ahead, then don’t get involved."

 

So far, said Hazelwood, the toughest part of marketing Applecross and Talamore is getting potential members to appreciate and understand the 2-for-1 membership – 4-for-1, if you include two more sister courses in Pinehurst, Talamore Resort and the Mid South Club.

 

"The concept of multi-club memberships is very new to this area," said Hazelwood.  "You have Philly Cricket with two courses, but I don’t know of anybody else who has two different facilities."

 

A Tier 1 full golf membership is a $12,500 refundable deposit with various incentive plans; annual dues are $2,995.  Like most clubs in the area, those numbers are down from years past ($4,200 in 2009, $5,200 in 2008).

 

So far, Applecross has about 115 full golf members and another 200 or so social members.  Talamore has 300 golf members.  The goal is for each to have 350 full golf members.

 

"We’re getting there," said Hazelwood.  "We’re continuing to grow, weathering the storm.  I can tell you that in the times we are in, it could be worse."

Word just in from Golf Channel that the network is launching a morning show, beginning in January.

 

Here’s the full announcement:

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2010) – Golf Channel announced today that it has greenlit the network’s first-ever morning show. Tentatively titled Dawn Patrol and currently in development, the show is slated to debut in January 2011. 

 

Scheduled to air live, weekdays from 7-9 a.m. ET from Golf Channel’s Orlando, Fla., studios, the show will feature news and commentary on the biggest sports and news stories of the day.

 

Following a news/talk show format, the sports-driven morning show will place an emphasis on golf while also offering a fresh perspective on topical news, sports and pop culture.

 

The program will feature field reporting and an array of in-studio guest appearances from a variety of industries. Golf Channel currently is searching nationwide to cast the program’s two co-hosts.

 

"We’ve wanted to introduce a morning show to Golf Channel for a number of years and felt that now was the right time," said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations. "Tackling everything from Tiger Woods to Brett Favre, the show’s format will be unlike anything we’ve done before and we are very excited to be launching it in 2011."

 

Is there an argument to be made that Sean O’Hair got snubbed by Corey Pavin by not being one of his four captain’s picks?

 

Nah, not really.

 

Despite winning $1.8 million so far, 2010 has been a so-so year for O’Hair, the West Chester resident.  He hasn’t won, he has only three Top 10 finishes and, barring a huge week at the BMW Championship in Chicago, he’ll likely be done for the season.

 

For anyone who notes that Captain Pavin had to skip over O’Hair, at 18^th in Ryder Cup points, to get to rookie sensation Rickie Fowler, 20^th in points, don’t forget that Fowler has racked up those points in only one year.

 

Coming off his strong performance in the 2009 Presidents Cup, where he went 2-2-1, it is fair to argue that O’Hair would have brought something of a veteran’s perspective to a team that already included three first-timers (Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton). 

 

Still, it’s hard to complain about Pavin’s picks: Tiger Woods, who is still No. 1 in the world appearing to be getting back on track; Ryder Cup veterans Zach Johnson (11^th in points, Ryder Cup record 1-2-1) Stewart Cink (14^th in points, Ryder Cup record 4-7-4) and Fowler, the hottest rookie on the PGA Tour.

 

Fact is, O’Hair was in the conversation for the U.S. Ryder Cup team – he was mentioned prominently in all speculative stories --  but he needed to turn some heads coming down the homestretch, which he didn’t to.

For fans of Pine Valley Golf Club, circle Sunday, Sept. 12 on your calendar.  That’s the day of the finals of the 86^th Crump Cup.

 

The George Arthur Crump Cup Memorial Tournament, named for the founder and main architect of the club, is a four-day competition among a field of top amateurs.  The day of the finals is the one day of the year that Pine Valley, near Clementon, N.J., the No. 1 ranked course in the country, throws open its doors to any and all comers.

 

Here is the pertinent information for this year’s Crump Cup.

 

-- Doors open at 1 p.m., Sept. 12.

 

-- Parking is at the Clementon Lake Amusement Park, 144 Berlin Road, Clementon.  Signs will be posted to direct you to the designated parking area.  (Police will not allow parking o East Atlantic Ave.)

 

-- Parking is $20 per car, which will include a shuttle bus ride to the course.

 

-- The Clementon Youth Athletic Association will set up a refreshment stand inside the front gate.

 

-- Video, photographs and cell phones are not permitted.  Do not bring cameras.

 

-- In case of inclement weather, call 856-783-3000, Option  4.

 

For your reading enjoyment, here’s a tour of the course from GolfClubAtlas.com.   Here’s a good magazine story on the Crump Cup.  Photos from last year’s Crump Cup are under Photos on the MyPhillyGolf Home page.

The biggest upset of the day at the U.S. Amateur involved a local.

 

Amory Davis, from Chadds Ford, a senior at the University of Virginia, pulled off a 3 & 1 victory over Jeff Wilson, the stroke-play medalist and No. 1 seed.

 

Wilson, 47, a reinstated amateur who is now a car dealer in California, earned his No. 1 seed the old fashioned way:  He shot a 62 on the first of two days of stroke-play qualifying.  Davis earned his spot another old-fashioned way:  He arose early Wednesday morning to be one of 16 players vying for six final match play spots.

 

Having earned the last spot, Davis was plugged into the line for sacrificial victims in the match play bracket, facing the No. 1 seed.

 

But the match didn’t work out as expected.  Davis stunned the favorite, standing at the equivalent of 4-under par through 17 holes when he closed out Wilson with his sixth birdie of the day.

 

Wilson’s defeat immediately raised questions about the "medalist jinx."  But Davis shook off the suggestion, citing his own hot hand as the deciding factor.

 

"Jeff played awesome," said Davis.  "If he had run into somebody who played pretty good golf today, he would have smoked him.  But, I didn’t play pretty good golf."

 

Like so many young golfers these days, Davis is a near-novice at match play.  "I haven’t played play match play since high school, my sophomore year in high school since I was 15 years," he said.

 

In today’s Round 2 match, Davis faces Brad Benjamin, 23, from Rockford, Ill., the 2009 U.S. Amateur Publinks champion.